Checking is good, double-checking is good, tidying up is good, washing is good, trying to be perfect is good, counting is good, being attentive is good, thinking thoroughly is good, requiring precision is good, getting reassurance is good … …

From the evoluntionary perspective, are people who are attentive, careful, clean, thoughtful (etc) more likely to survive? Obviously, yes? It’s very much needed in ancient societies, as survival skills.

How if these careful people get married and have children? Do they produce even more “careful” children? And then next generation, and next, and next…

And it’s not just the genes from both lines of the “careful” ancestors, but also the upbringing environments provided by these attentive parents, they certainly continue to reinforce such behaviour… We were taught many of these acts as children, by our parents, older siblings and teachers in the school, weren’t we?

Then as the behaviour continues to be reinforced and developed and advanced… there you go, OCD? (This is just a hypothesis)

It’s just my random thought… But we are surely seeing more and more OCD clients in our clinic these days. Not just that, it’s got harder and harder to treat as well (the illness has got more stubborn and sticky).

Imagine that this theory is somewhat 70% true (another 30% of factors that’s beyond the knowledge of this psychologist in the modern days), OCD is going to get stronger and stronger, right? It can become a real big (detrimental) issue, especially in Asian culture…

What can we do? How do you bring up a child that strive to be better and better, but not aiming to be 100% certain for everything s/he does?